This invention relates to telecommunication systems. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for recording an audible event via a voicemail witness service.
Unfortunately, individuals sometimes find themselves wishing they had had a witness to an event as the event was occurring. For example, the individual might have been robbed and, without a witness, might have insufficient evidence to convict or even to identify the robber. Similarly, if an individual is attacked, and no witness is available or willing to testify, the individual might not be able to make a convincing criminal or civil case against his attacker.
In such situations, the individual could call a predefined emergency telephone number, such as 911, to request assistance from the police, for example. By the time the police arrive, however, the incident is usually over, the attacker has fled, and the individual""s case has been reduced to his word against the attacker""s.
In some situations, the individual might not even be sure that a call to the police is warranted. For example, the individual might be waiting in a disabled vehicle on the side of the road for help to arrive. When another motorist, for example, pulls over and approaches, the individual cannot be sure, at least initially, whether the motorist has stopped to help the individual, or to harm him. If the motorist stopped to help, there is no problem. If, on the other hand, the motorist stopped to harm him, the individual might like to have a recording of the event.
In any of the above described scenarios, if the individual has a telephone at hand, the individual could call a voicemail service and place the phone at a location where the events can be recorded, at least to the extent that the events are audible. Typical voicemail services, however, strictly limit message length, usually to only a couple of minutes. Such limitations might prevent the individual from generating a meaningful record. Additionally, if the attacker found the telephone, the attacker could simply force the individual to delete the message from the voicemail service.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to individuals in such situations if systems and methods were available whereby the individual could initiate a voice mail recording of an event as it is occurring, in a manner such that the record would be long enough to be meaningful. Such systems and methods would be particularly advantageous if they were provided such that an attacker could not force a victim to alter or delete the record. Hence, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for recording an audible event via a voicemail witness service.
The invention satisfies the aforementioned needs in the art by providing systems and methods for recording an audible event via a voicemail witness service. Voicemail witness allows people in potentially dangerous situations to create a voicemail record of their encounter, as well as to receive help if they need it. This service can be provided to people with voice mail, who are accessing their voice mail with devices that have microphones such as cellular phones, home phones, and computers. The voicemail witness service includes a voice mailbox that can hold an extended message, e.g., a recording of about 30-minutes or more. A person can activate the voicemail witness by dialing into their voice mail system then dial a predefined number, such as 911, after gaining access.
Once the voicemail witness is activated, it continues to record until the person deactivates it with the correct passcode or until the end of the recording time is reached. If the recording is deactivated with the correct passcode, then the recording will not be retained. However, if the recording is stopped without the entry of the correct passcode or if the end of the recording time is reached, the recording along with caller id information can be provided automatically to an emergency service, such as 911, so that help can be dispatched.
To prevent false alarms from occurring, if the voicemail witness has notified 911, but the user wishes to stop officers from being dispatched, the user can do so by accessing the voicemail witness to enter the correct passcode within a user-designated time period. At that time, the caller id information along with a message would be sent to inform a 911 operator that the earlier voicemail witness recording received from the caller was a false alarm.